 LA |
||
A
quick bumpy ride out on the Raptor got us to the Channel Islands. |
|
|
 |
This
seal came up and posed whilst we both took photos |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
 |
This
huge sea hare too. |
 |
We
did 5 dives in two days with in Ventura: |
||
 |
Playing
in the kelp. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Spotting
some fish. |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
and
some Nudibranchs |
 Laying Eggs |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||
 |
Sea
Hares |
 |
 |
 Clams |
 |
 |
Spiny
Lobster |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
Some
things we have not identified |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
On
the way back to Ventura thee boat was surrounded by a pod of dolphins
(approx 100/150) |
 |
 |
 |
|
After
Ventura we had no specific plans other than diving in Monterey the following
weekend. |
||
 |
We
drove to OJAI [Oh-Hi] And had a look at the galleries, found a wine bar, and then had to find a Motel. |
 |
 |
The
motel was weird but the wine bar was great. |
|
 |
We
asked the waitress in the wine bar where we should go and the Kon Tiki
Inn in Pismo Beach. |
 |
 |
On
the way we went to Solvang to see the Californian Dutch Village. Took
hazel about 20 mins before we had to escape |
 |
 Picture of a Gnome for Gordon |
||
 |
We
escaped to the Sunstone vineyard where Hazel proceeded to do the wine
tasting. I was driving so could not take part. I'm sure the guilty feeling
made the wine taste all the better! |
 |
 Kon Tiki Inn |
||
 |
 |
 |
 |
We
liked the Inn so much when we got there we decided to book in for a second
night. It was full, but by 11am the following day, someone had checked
out and they were able to accommodate us...yipee. |
 |
 |
We
went to a premium shopping outlet.Ohhhh Shopping my favorite! |
 |
After
two nights at the Kon Tiki we decided to head North towards Monterey along
the Costal Road. |
||
 Duck Shoppe! |
||
 |
We
drove through Big Sur national Park, and at one point there are Elephant
seals on the beach. |
 |
 |
Just
be glad you we don't have scratch and smell monitors! |
 |
 This is the SUV we hired. It was a similar size as my Mitsubishi, however it was one of the smaller cars on the roads. |
||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
We
arrived in Monterey with a day to spare before we were due to go diving.
Everyone we met seemed to rave about the Aquarium, so we had to go and
investigate |
||
 |
 |
 |
 |
The
aquarium lived up to expectations. There were Sea and fresh water otter
enclosures, large Kelp tanks. However these living Jellyfish displays
where superb. |
 |
 |
 The large tank was immense. It held two SunFish, Tuna, Hammerheads, and a small White shark to name a few. |
 |
Anyway
the next day we were back Diving. |
||
 |
 |
|
 |
More
Nudibranchs |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The
diving was deeper and the kelp was still with us below 20m. |
 |
 |
Trying to get the kelp back into the boat! |
 |
 |
||
 Seals in the harbor |
 |
 |
 Otter in the harbor |
||
 |
 |
 Welsh Shop |
 |
Monterey
for some strange reason has lots of 'British' pubs. Complete with red
telephone box and Union Jack tables. |
 |
 |
 |
|
2nd
Day dives |
||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
We
enjoyed the boat dives so much we stayed an extra day and did some shore
diving. See Video of the Seals below ;-) |
||
 |
 |
|
 |
Flat
fish in these somewhere! |
 |
 |
 |
 |
After Monterey
we headed to another shopping center this time only 145 shops. |
 |
|
 Golden Gate |
After
Gilroy we drove through the heavy traffic to San Francisco. |
Alcatraz |
 |
This
tall ship (Balclutha) was built in Glasgow. |
 |
 |
 Liberty Ship (behind the sub) |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 Yep you guessed it. More Shopping. |
 |
 |
Leaving
San Fansisco. |
 |
We took the
407 back south. Lets just say that Fresno isn't a great place to
visit. |
||
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
 |
We visited the Getty Center which was awesome. Fantastic architecture, and the odd bit of art too! (Well OK a hugh amount of art) |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Our
final day we spent around little venice in LA. |
||
 |
 |
